Moments in Time With You
by xMxRosex
Summary: The clock is ticking, and you might never know how I feel, but for now, well, just for now I'll be content with these moments in time with you. Matsumoto/Hitsugaya drabble with slight chapter linkage.
1. For Her

**For Her

* * *

**

For her, life was filled with lazy afternoons with a landscape of paperwork, and a desk for a pillow.

Her long copper hair splayed artfully around pale shoulders, and fell down into the shadowed valley between her breasts.

Sleepy gray eyes, which could be both piercing and oblivious.

A joker.

A flirt.

An actor.

Thin walls were infiltrated by the muffled buzz of human life, and faraway grunts of training.

Those solemn gray eyes stole glances outside into the grassy training grounds of the tenth division.

Golden sunlight filtered through the office, and Matsumoto's brush strokes on the paper failed altogether.

A cat-like growl escaped pouted lips.

She hated paperwork.

She became a shinigami for the excitement, the romance, the fun.

Not for the damned paperwork; even her dreams were filled with ink, and her hands were black with the stuff.

A gentle breeze from the open window stirred up papers and copper hair.

Another feminine sigh.

She desperately hoped that Renji and Ikkaku were free that night, because these papers were driving her insane. Only the warm veil of sake, and the lusty advances of men would let her sleep ready for another day of monotony and wasted afternoons.

But she couldn't go anywhere if the paperwork was still as mountainous as it appeared to be at the moment.

_ink  
_

Clashes of wooden poles from the training grounds.

_stamp_

Another lulling breeze brought with it the scent of honey

_sign_

She could imagine the husky tone of Renji's whispers in her ear, and the roaming hands of Ikkaku. It made her feel safe, wanted, if a little repulsed.

_ink_

This is what her life had been reduced to. Work, sighs, and cheap kisses in the night.

_stamp_

And the blur of sake would take her to sleep.

_sign_

Orange sunset masked the room.

A slowly breathing torso sprawled on the desk in a tangle of hair and paper, dead asleep.

The swift, shadowed footsteps of her white haired captain.

_And she was sla__cking off. Again. _

His fully intended to shout at her.

His lungs ballooned with air, ready.

But before the words formed, she shifted on the desk, mumbling incoherently.

A perfect white eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

So he marched over to the desk, and gathered an armful of paper documents.

Matsumoto had her nose rested deep within the ink well.

_Honestly, the woman was a k__lutz. _

In a fluster of robes, the taichou walked wearily back to his office and began the paperwork.

_ink_

As the sun dipped below the jagged horizon of seireitei, and a thin sliver of a moon illuminated a cloudy purple night; pale hands tore methodically into the work.

Copper hair coloured an empty desk.

The taichou sighed; his meeting with Hinamori would have to wait.

_J__eez, the things he did for Matsumoto._

But he would shout at her in the morning.

For now he would let her sleep, and hope that the ink never washed off her nose.

_stamp_

A landscape of paperwork…

_sign._

…and a desk for a pillow.

* * *

**A/N:Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it, I promise it will get steamier in later chapters :) Please review, because it might make a new chapter magically appear a lot faster *wink wink nudge nudge***

**xx Rose**


	2. Cheap Kisses in the Snow

**I deleted this chapter a while back. But since I decided to reignite this story (after a super ridiculously long time) it's back up. A new chapter to follow immediately. I can't say this is my best ever writing, but it does the job. Please enjoy!**

Outside, there was a delicate snow from the heavens, which drifted sweetly to the ground. Then it became muddied on the streets and turned to an ugly brown slush.

Inside, wood paneled walls and steamed heating kept the air warm, and the cheeks rosy.

Raucous laughter burned from a corner in the building, filled with highly ranked shinigami.

Empty bottles of sake surrounded the men, and certain busty fukutaichou.

The evening light bounced off every curve of her hair and revealed a secret glint in her eye.

To the men, she was both a friend, and an object of desire.

She knew it.

She liked it.

With blurred, golden, alcoholic vision she became a shimmering goddess who smelt of vanilla and sake.

They reclined on the floor, each taking up a great amount of space, a rowdy bunch, slightly feared by the owners. They were intimidating in that way.

Lazy with their powers, but liberal with their tips.

The regular nightly customers.

Renji tore his laughing eyes away from a curvy barmaid and settled back in with his friends.

"Ok, I've got one guys!" He barked out

"Finally…" drawled Yumichika, tossing his hair back.

Renji elbowed him in the gut jokingly and drowned a swift shot.

"Shut up pretty boy. Ok…**I've never **seen Yoruichi naked." He proclaimed loudly rubbing his chin.

The table went up in a joyous roar while everyone else on the table took a shot.

"Haha! You serious Abarai? The woman practically lives in the nude!" thundered Ikkaku over the laughter.

"And for that I thank the gods everyday" Shuuhei said, with what he believed was a somber face.

"I mean, come on Renji, even I've seen more than you!" called out Matsumoto, and the air seemed to swim sweetly around her.

"Man am I drunk." Concluded Renji proudly with a scratch to his famous red hair.

Yumichika smoothed his own hair and rung out imperiously,

"Ok my turn, Um… **I've never**….yeah, OK, I've never made a move on Matsumoto"

Every other man on the table promptly took a shot in triumph while the woman scowled and blushed furiously.

"No fair Yumichika, I thought we were gonna play nice!" she protested.

The air seemed to heat up, and the lines of reality began to blur as the game continued.

"Oh crap." giggled Matsumoto, "It's my turn again? Give me a sec."

She felt a warm, calloused hand slide up her thigh.

"Get off!" she yelped playfully and lightly slapped Ikkaku's hand as he leered over her.

Her fuzzy brain whirled and stopped at an image of angrily flashing green eyes, and the form of her captain.

"Um, Ok, this one's kinda lame but, **I've never** seen my captain be nice to anyone."

The table was still as noone moved to take a drink, laughing softly_, he could be pretty uptight _ they silently agreed.

With a start Renji piped up and took a shot,

"Yeah, I have to agree with you most of the time Ran, but the other day I saw him talking with Hinamori, and they seemed to be getting pretty damn cozy together, if you know what I mean. He even gave her a peck on the cheek."

There were catcalls and rude gestures after that one.

Shuuhei called out " I didn't know he had it in him." And the table exploded in laughter again.

The curvy serving girl looked faintly scared as she came up with another round of drinks.

Matsumoto's head began to thump, and the heat became oppressive inside, _she should go out for some air. _

So Matsumoto used the welcome distraction of the serving girl to duck outside onto a low veranda to breath in cold winter air and watch the snow tumble down romantically on a traditional Japanese garden.

_The sake must be getting to her, _she reasoned, rubbing her temples, and leaning against the cheap wooden rail over looking the garden. The heated laughter from inside seemed distant and rude in the wake of a headache.

She ran long fingers through her river of hair, and swallowed a cold breath of air.

'I thought I saw you run off" smiled a gruff voice from her side.

"Oh, hey Madarame. Yeah, just got a bit of a headache."

He leant over the balcony next to her, his warm, muscular body invitingly close.

"Hmm…well if you like I'll just stand here all quiet with you"

Matsumoto's skin prickled and they both felt that the invitation was asking more than that.

Rangiku hesitated briefly, then rasped with an angry fire, "You'd better damned well stay"

Her hair whipped in the thick night air as she turned and grasped the back of his hairless head. He smelt like drink.

At first her friend was surprised, but then he kissed back with the same heated intensity, grasping her shoulder blades desperately.

Their bodies entwined to become unbearably close, he broke the kiss and roughly bit her neck.

She gasped and laughed wickedly, digging nails into the soft skin at the back of his neck.

His arms were so warm and strong, she fell into them and let him lead.

They didn't care that passers by could see.

His hand snaked around her waist and their hips ground together in a whisper of robes.

Matsumoto's tongue glided teasingly down the side of Ikkaku's ear, and her groaned, hungry for her.

"All of a sudden, my headache's gone" she rasped huskily with heated breath, and threw Ikkaku against the wall of the building to bite his bottom lip softly.

Ikkaku breathed back roughly, " You seem incredibly eager tonight…not that I'm complaining."

The crisp trickle of a miniature waterfall in the shadows, came intermittently with shallow breathing.

'What do you want Madarame? We could stand here all night and talk, or we can go back to your place."

He grunted deeply in amusement

"We'll go back to my place." And with that the two shinigami disappeared leaving nothing but the smell of sake in their wake.

Back inside the drinking house, Shuuhei nudged Yumichika,

"Where do you think Rangiku and Madarame have run off to? They've been away for ages. What the hell could they be doing out there?"

Yunichika raised a single dark eyebrow and laughed dryly,

"What do you think they could be doing, Mr. I have a 69 tattooed on my face?"

An embarrassed grunt, "Oh, right."

He leaned back against a wall and stared up at the ceiling,

"That's kinda weird though right?" Renji commented, " I mean, they've hooked up before, but she doesn't really seem that into him"

Yumichika sighed elaborately as he sunk another shot.

"You idiot redhead, she only went off with a 'headache' when she heard about her taichou and his little girlfriend."

"So?" Interjected Shuuhei with raised eyebrows of his own.

Yumichika sighed again in a cloud of superiority, and rested his head back against the wall.

"Oh forget it. Being both beautiful and intelligent is pointless when I hang out with you buffoons."

The laughter and protest at the last statement was wild and heartfelt.

* * *

Deeper into seireitei, the streets were quiet and an icy haired captain stood by an open window, watching the snow fall like his fukutaichou had a few minutes ago.

Intense, brooding eyes glared out into the depths of the darkness, until his gaze softened when a soft hand grazed his shoulder.

"Hitsugya taichou" came the sweet voice, accompanied with wide innocent eyes.

" Yeah?"

"I…I" Hinamori stumbled nervously over her words. She prayed her shyness wouldn't get in her way again.

Hitsugaya brought her chin with his cold strong hand. She flinched even at this gentle touch.

"Hitsugaya taichou…I think I'm in love with you" She trembled in girlish fear as he dropped his hand.

He looked nervous too, but smiled softly

"I think I'm in love with you too."

And the snow sifted down like icing sugar by the window where they kissed so innocently.

* * *

Further away, his fukutaichou was kissing too. But not so innocently. She clutched to Ikkaku, to feel his skin on hers, but all she could feel was the piercing green eyes of her captain.

It was as if he could see her.

And she felt guilty, while giving into another wild kiss.

But amongst it all, the snow continued to fall.


	3. Us Against the World

**A/N: It's short, but hopefully, sweet. Enjoy.**

They walked together, past the wilting fences of Rukongai. Plumes of dust simmered in the wake of their silent footsteps and fluttering robes.

Voices remained mute; the raw pain stilling usually heated tongues.

The afternoon had brought with it long shadows in a glaring spring light. The orange taint of the sun was almost electric in its intensity, and the air was alive with the heady perfume of cherry blossom.

It should have been the beginning of a lovely evening. But the wind swept up the metallic tang of blood and smoke the shinigami pair had left behind them - and so death floated along the air with them.

Corrosive.

The fukotaichou's eyes, usually so lively, were dull; fixed on the path rambling through decaying buildings. Her hair was caught by the swirling air and rippled in the air, a majestic copper flag framing a dirt streaked face. Her mind seemed so slow. So numb.

_Since when has he been taller than me?_ Matsumoto mused apathetically, wearily tracing their twin shadows with icy grey orbs. She stole a glance at her captain beneath long lashes. He looked like he had seen too much. Old. Lost.

Lips parted slightly, Hitsugaya ignored the feel of his subordinate's eyes. The pain coursing through his every nerve, swimming through his veins, was making his limbs feel stiff, foreign.

It was the dark side of soul society. Outsiders saw only the glory, the bravado, the heroics. But this was war.

* * *

By the time they reached the Tenth Squad barracks, night had settled in. The evening was still warm as they stopped outside the majestic doors in unison. Both were jolted cruelly back into reality as they realised they could walk no more. Yet neither could muster the will to open the entrance. Instead, they stood, silent, in front of the waiting doors.

"Taichou-" Matsumoto whispered, after a long time, her voice cracking with disuse. She turned to him, eyes imploring, helpless. He continued to stare forwards, determined not to give in to his emotions. His jaw was clenched, razor sharp.

"Taichou," she repeated, louder. Finally he turned to look at her, and she was again lost for words. His green eyes burned into hers with breathtaking fervour.

His mouth fumbled for a while until it managed to form words.

"Not now Matsumoto," he rasped. "Please, just, not now."

Then, suddenly, with a movement so swift Matsumoto gasped, he stepped forwards and swept her into his arms, crushing her against his chest. The embrace was so tight, so desperate, it was difficult for the woman to breathe. But she did not protest.

She could feel his chest heaving with grief.

She hugged back.


End file.
